How To Cook In a Cardboard Box - DIY Solar Oven

If you've got a cardboard box, you can make yourself a simple DIY solar oven. It's perfect for warming up food during the summer when you're camping, living off grid, or just don't want to spend the electric to heat up your whole oven. I use mine almost every day (except cloudy days of course) to heat up my lunch in the summer. It's especially great for warming up leftovers.
Just remember to be careful while you're cooking with a DIY solar oven. The insides of these things get very hot, just like a regular oven, so use potholders to pull out your pans. Use a thermometer to make sure your oven remains at an appropriate cooking temperature. And don't rely on a solar oven to cook potentially dangerous meals that require very specific temperatures (like meat for example), since a solar oven's temperatures can vary inconsistently.
MATERIALS USED:
2 boxes - one a bit smaller than the other
Insulating material (peanuts, crumpled paper, etc)
Aluminum foil
Scissors
Cardboard
Duct tape
Black paper
Clear plastic sheet (or old glass picture frame)
The packing peanuts I used in my solar oven were made of cornstarch. I do not advise using styrofoam peanuts as they may emit harmful vapors (I don't know, so I wouldn't risk it). So if you don't have cornstarch peanuts, use crumpled paper or more layers of cardboard as an alternative to packing peanuts.
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Hope you enjoy this video. If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment below. I post a new cosplay or craft tutorial every Thursday, so be sure to subscribe or check back next week for more DIY goodness.
*** The materials listed above are the products I actually used for this project. I find that people often want to know exactly what I use, so I've started including exact links when I can find them. However, it's simply meant as a guide and you can substitute with whatever comparable brands/products you might have available in your own area. Also some of the links may be affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission from the company if a sale is made. It doesn't cost you any extra; it's just a simple way to help support my work on this channel. (I just figured, hey, as long as I was posting the links anyway, I might as well make them affiliate links)
The information provided in this video is for general information purposes only. If you choose to rely on the information in this video, you do so at your own risk and you assume responsibility for the results. Always use caution and take appropriate safety measures when creating. Finished creations are for decorative purposes only; they do not give you special powers or abilities. All skits are entirely fictional and purely for entertainment purposes. (Full disclaimer at: thewoodlandelf.com/video-disc...)

[@TheMultiRolePlayer1980]

i never ever in a million years making a solar oven but i do have one of those small camping survival stoves when i got my five day survival backpack but a solar oven i shall give it a try someday :D great tutorial and very much high grates on getting over 30k subs :D

[@Thewoodlandelf]

Thanks 😊

[@TheMultiRolePlayer1980]

@@Thewoodlandelf your oh so very welcome :)

[@kandonkmankk842]

That is cool that you cook your lunches in it!!!

[@Thewoodlandelf]

Yup, every day the sun's out 🌞

[@qualqui]

AWESOME Video, thank you for sharing and for inspiring us with your example of American Ingenuity! Thumbs up and greetings from central Mexico! :)

[@Thewoodlandelf]

Thanks 😊 Hello to you in central Mexico.

[@patienceukamaka9970]

I like it and it is the most sensible one to me

[@johnmorgan3293]

When someone asks you who would you want to be stuck on a deserted island with, my best bet would be Amber!

[@Thewoodlandelf]

LOL 😂😂😂

[@briangingras5886]

I saw this video just to say a couple of these things that you can change not use the peanuts as an insulator because when they get really hot the heat they impart Vapors from the foam that they're made of which is no good for the food you might be cooking use multiple layers of cardboard like I did and it's better to go with mirror reflective finish surface stickers instead of aluminum foil get higher temperature

[@Thewoodlandelf]

Awesome, thanks for the tips! I'll definitely have to upgrade to the reflective finish stickers. The packing peanuts I used here are the biodegradable cornstarch kind though, so I think they're probably safe to cook next to.

[@briangingras5886]

@@Thewoodlandelf if that gives you enough heat than fine but otherwise I always went with layers of cardboard there are no gaps in wall with cardboard

[@Thewoodlandelf]

I'll have to run an experiment and try both ways, with cardboard and the peanuts, and see if there's a heating difference. I'm curious now.

[@Fedreal_Bureau_Of_Investigaton]

i just used air as inuslator

[@What2B]

😉👍

[@crimsoncarson7763]

Would u ever bake cookies in the hot sun using the solar oven?

[@Thewoodlandelf]

Yup, but they have to be the pan-cookie type, so they stay contained. On a cookie sheet they end up too flat in the solar oven.

[@meuittfs8076]

Hi any thermometer can use

[@Thewoodlandelf]

As long as it's not plastic, otherwise it could melt if the temperature gets too high. Wood stove thermometers are perfect. They're metal and usually only cost a few dollars.

[@lightdark00]

Temperature is key. I see you said max 250F in another reply, but then since it's closed off, is there a problem with humidity inside? My initial attempt, before watching any videos, was only enough to get flatbread to the edible point, if people don't like eating dry noodles or squished bread, yeah like that. Angling is not what I want to do for the whole box, so the box must be angled and a new flat area made. I'm trying for something that can bake bread in an hour.

[@Thewoodlandelf]

It's a little humid, but not too bad (my top isn't very heavy, so there is a small gap or two around the top edge which probably lets a lot of the humidity out). I do pizza in it a lot, and while the crust never gets crunchy, I've never had it get soggy either. Usually I just throw a piece of firewood under the corner of my box to angle it. Never tried baking bread from scratch in it, but I think it would probably take long than an hour in this oven, unless it was a 100% sunny day with zero clouds.

[@lightdark00]

@@Thewoodlandelf Thanks for the nice reply. I made a tiny test version of another style of solar oven, and I was rather impressed for it's size and that I used thin strips of aluminum foil I recovered from my first attempt in it. So, now I'm making a supersize one(bigger than the larger sized plans) from a large monitor box. It'll be perfect for my cast iron dutch oven. I'll be really happy with 350F, and I think I'll be able to reach it.

[@vertix8216]

What are the dimensions of the boxes that you used

[@Thewoodlandelf]

My inner box was 12x12 inches and 13 inches high. The outer box was 15x15 inches and 13 inches high. Though the dimensions aren't actually that important. As long as you have one box slightly bigger than the other, you can do this with any shape/size.

[@lucagauci5938]

Is crumpled paper instead peanuts?

[@Thewoodlandelf]

Yes, that will work too.

[@shakedownprophets9450]

If it can get to 200 degrees why doesn’t the cardboard catch fire?

[@Thewoodlandelf]

I believe it would have to hit around 400 degrees before it would catch fire, as I think around 400 is the burning point of cardboard. (Though I may be wrong on that number)

[@ilhaanamersi4992]

Can I boil water in there??

[@Thewoodlandelf]

Probably not. Water will get pretty hot, but won't actually reach boiling.

[@dlight2669]

Did you get anything to cook?

[@Thewoodlandelf]

Yup, I use it to warm up leftovers as the time. As long as the sun is out, it cooks great. It's like a nature microwave, haha.